The Municipality of Maribor implemented fast charger infrastructure for e-buses at the main station and the cable car station in Maribor. 

The City of Leipzig started with the organisation of the innovation competition with the title „Smart City Challenge Leipzig“. It is initiated and managed by the Digital City Unit of Leipzig.

Interreg EfficienCE and the Interreg Alpine Space e-SMART project joined forces to organise a webinar about multifunctional bus charging stations and their integration with the existing urban transport network.

The Transnational Webinar took place during the European Week of Regions and Cities event where the presenters answered the question of how public transport can actively contribute to increasing the share of renewable energy.

A new, foil-based photovoltaic system is being tested on the roof of a Vienna metro station at the Ottakring metro station by Wiener Linien. Three virtual site visits were prepared to introduce the solution. 

The first mobile charging station for electric cars powered by a trolleybus network was built in Gdynia. A press conference was held on the 9th June at the PKT headquarters about this unique mobile charger, which will use recovered energy from the braking of trolleybuses.

The Transnational Webinar titled “Planning for energy-efficient metro stations” took place on the 18 May 2021, where the presenters introduced different energy-efficient solutions implemented in metro stations. 

A study was prepared about the best economic and technical solutions for the electrification of bus line no. 6 in Maribor to achieve sustainable goals and improve air quality in the city.

Three cities, Munich, Hamburg and Leipzig strive to develop urban data platforms and digital twins across cities that can be implemented in other German cities as well.

The Pilsen City Public Transport Company (PMDP) has successfully finished its pilot in the Interreg EfficienCE project, namely a series of tests of a battery buffer storage station at the final station of trolleybus line 16. During eight test phases, each of them consisting of a five-days working week, various cases of usage have been tested.

A new, foil-based PV system is being tested on the roof of a Vienna metro station by Wiener Linien. The test started on 14th January 2020 and is continuously monitored. 

From now on, news related to the Interreg EfficienCE project can also be read on the SUMP-central platform, the European competence centre for sustainable urban mobility planning (SUMP)!

The Pilsen City Public Transport Company (PMDP) got the opportunity to test a new type of battery buffer storage station, equipped with more efficient lithium batteries. 

In July and August 2020, the trolleybus operator PKT (Gdynia, Poland) has filmed the virtual tour of the trolleybus depot, so visitors can have a deep insight to the different locations by listening to individual experts and using the 360 degree videos.

A new Energy Management System (EMS) was implemented in the trolleybus depot building in the city of Gdynia, providing great opportunities for energy savings. 

The Transnational Webinar titled “Innovations for energy-efficient public transport depots” was held on the 4 December. 

One and a half year passed since a new Central European cooperation project has been kicked off. City authorities, public transport companies, universities and sustainable mobility consultants joined forces to explore and test energy efficiency measures and the role of renewable energies in public transport systems.

Magyar CIVINET, the Hungarian-speaking regional CIVITAS network organised a joint webinar with INTERREG EfficienCE on the 19 November 2020 on „Current trends and challenges in public transport”.

We are very impressed – at the annual Climathon, a virtual hackathon all about urban climate innovations, 400 highly motivated participants, coaches and experts worked for 24 hours to come up with creative, new ideas!

A test line served by battery trolleybuses (line 19) was operated in Pilsen between the 2 December 2019 and 26 June 2020 on the route, normally operated by buses.

For 24 hours, interested citizens will brainstorm ideas all around urban climate innovations, at the Climathon on 13-14 November 2020. The global hackathon takes place in more than 200 cities around the globe and Leipzig will be one of them.

Today BKV’s latest energy-efficient investment, the solar-panel system installed on the premises of the Kelenföld Bus Division was inaugurated. 

The Pilsen City Transport Company (PMDP) has launched a series of tests of a battery buffer storage station at the final station of trolleybus line 16.

As part of the EfficienCE project, the Municipality of Maribor and the University of Maribor want to set up a green, electrified bus line with the associated charging infrastructure. 

The “Ready2Scale” event was organized within the frame of The Innovation Week Czech Republic 2020 – a major technology event organised by the European Leadership & Academic Institute (ELAI). 

It is of paramount importance for BKK Centre for Budapest Transport to turn to green technologies in order to contribute to the sustainable development of Budapest along with its transport on the one hand, and to make Budapest more liveable on the other hand.

The City of Gdynia – together with PKT – organized a PICNIC and EXIBITION on Zawisza Czarny Square, which used to be a busy parking lot and has been temporarily changed into traffic-free, relaxation and leisure area.

The global pandemic affected both our project and our cities’ transport system. Like in many places in the world, people lost their trust in the public transport and were advised against its usage. 

PKT attempts to limit existing energy losses in the trolleybus traction network by retrieving unused recuperated braking energy generated by trolleybuses, with the implementation of an energy inverter system which will divert the wasted energy to power the depot building.

Early indications show: Half of the energy needed to run the Ottakring underground station comes from solar power around midday. Pilot project set to run for another 18 months.

The virtual partner meeting was followed by a Transnational Webinar titled “Methods and use cases for data-based planning of energy efficient public transport infrastructure”. 

Are you currently in the process of developing a pilot measure for energy efficient PT infrastructure or adopting innovative technologies?

If yes, apply now!

A Wiener Linien pilot project with Wien Energie to promote active climate protection in Ottakring

25 people from the EfficienCE project got together in Bergamo for two days. During the first day each partners’ progress was discussed in detail. The second day we held a transnational workshop.

On 19 November 2019 a joint workshop by the City of Leipzig (Office for Geoinformation and Land Management and the Digital City Unit) and the Leipziger Verkehrsbetriebe (local transport company) took place.

As the European Mobility Week is promoting clean and sustainable urban transport, partners of the EfficienCE project also organised or participated at local Mobility Week events.

The EfficienCE newsletter aims to keep all relevant stakeholders up to date on the project's result on energy efficiency and renewable energy in public transport. Subscribe now!

Five organisations launched the EfficienCE Declaration by signing it, and several others joined since. You are also invited to show the commitment of your organisation towards energy efficiency in public transport by signing the Declaration!